Likely, the 33% rise in the price of most of the titles in the top 200 comic books, coupled with the fact that people generally have less money to spend on entertainment, has caused the decline in overall sales for the industry. Also, mainstream superhero comics have gotten more dumb over the past five years or so.

I personally have stopped collecting individual issues in favor of collections. And when I buy collections, I’m more likely to buy something like Scalped or Ignition City or Incognito or Northlanders than I am to buy a disorganized collection of Captain America. For me at least, the serialized superhero stuff has gotten more expensive and less interesting, whereas the collected volumes of creator-owned comics for adults have become more appealing and cost-effective, especially with an Amazon discount.